The present invention relates to a business form or mailer intermediate, and more particularly, to a mailer or business form having a built-in reply envelope which may be either duplex or simplex printed in either continuous or single sheet format.
Various mailer envelope styles have been developed for mailing bills, statements or the like to customers with features to ease the return mailing. Pre-addressed envelopes or labels have typically been included. Recently, mailers containing a built-in pre-addressed reply envelope have become increasingly popular. While such mailers have been for the most part successful, many varieties have encountered a number of difficulties, such as lacking the ability to be printed on both sides in a single pass through a continuous printing environment.
Lombardo, U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,123 discloses a mailer type business form and intermediate with a built-in reply envelope. The mailer of Lombardo is a sheet of four virtually identically sized panels which may be folded to form a four ply mailer. A return envelope is created from the first and fourth panels when the mailer is folded. The return envelope is open along the fourth panel with a sealing flap adjacent the outer edge of the fourth panel. Perforations are provided only in the second and third panels, not the first and fourth panels. Also, the Lombardo mailer does not provide return address labels or multiple invoice or billing statements and is simplex printed.
Accordingly, the need remains for an improved mailer or business form with a built-in reply envelope which may be either duplex or simplex printed in a continuous or single sheet format.